The Mighty Night Owl
by Puppet String
Summary: AU where the group get together as kids for a sleepover. Black*Star volunteers to stay awake all night and keep watch after Crona expresses a fear of thunder. Non-gendered Crona*


It was past nine o'clock. Everyone was up super duper late and Maka's father had already left the kids unattended to go get drunk and party, so nobody planned on going to sleep any time soon. Rain pounded down hard on the roof of the apartment, but it was warm and dry inside. Everything felt extra snug with the knowledge of the chilly rain. Shrek played softly on the TV while everyone talked and snacked on the junk food Maka had collected from the cabinets the instant her father had gone.

"I'm thirsty!" Patty complained loudly, "Maka, do you have any water?"

"That's a stupid question," Black*Star sneered, "Of course she has water. Do you think she has no indoor plumbing? Even if she didn't, there's plenty of water outside right now! You could just fill a cup with rain and drink that."

Patty threw a pillow from the couch as hard as she could at Black*Star, knocking a mug of hot coca of his hands and all over his shirt.

"Patty! What was that for? Now I have to change into my jammies!"

"Serves you right for calling my sister stupid, Black*Star!"

"I didn't call _her_ stupid, I called her _question_ stupid, Liz! Get it right!"

"Enough, you three!" Maka grabbed her couch pillow and pulled Black*Star out of Liz's face. "Maybe we should all change. It's getting late, anyway. Black*Star, you can change first in the bathroom. The boys can line up and take turns there while the girls use my room. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded and shuffled off, except Crona.

"Aren't you going to change, too?" Tsubaki asked.

"Nu-uh. I don't have pajamas, so I just sleep in my clothes."

"Are you comfortable like that?"

"Yep."

"Okay, then."

Soon, everyone was changed and Patty had her glass of water. Shrek was over and the TV screen was dark.

"Let's play truth or dare!" Liz suggested.

The game lasted for about an hour. By the end of it, everyone knew that Maka had dropped her father's toothbrush in the toilet and put it back without washing it (twice), Soul had gotten his fingers stuck in a door, and that Patty had bitten Liz's leg and left a scar after a fallout. Tsubaki was forced to stand with one foot in a bowl of pasta, Black*Star had to eat a spider, and Kid had to wear only one sock for ten minutes.

"Alright, Soul...I dare you and Crona to stand out in the rain for five whole minutes with no umbrella!"

"Black*Star, that's terrible!"

"How could you? What if they get sick?"

"I'm so gonna make you eat another spider for that next turn!"

Soul shrugged it off. "Fine by me. Can we have towels when we come back in?"

Maka ran off to get them while Black*Star locked Soul and Crona out and everyone else flocked to the window to watch the two stand on the street in the rain.

"How long's it been?"

"Three minutes and seven seconds. Eight seconds. Ni-"

"Thank you, I get the picture."

"Those two look awful. Black*Star, you're the worst!"

"Hey, I'm just playing the game. Can't take the heat, get out of the k-"

 **BOOM!**

A white flash filled the room and was followed almost immediately by an immense noise.

Crona's screaming was audible from inside as the poor child scrambled up the wet stairs, falling and scraping their knee halfway up. Tiny fists pounded at the door as another flash of lightning filled the room, followed by a blast of thunder that shook the windows.

"Let us in! Please! I don't know how to deal with this! Please! Please!"

Black*Star threw open the door and Crona raced inside, sobbing loudly. Soul followed a few seconds later, seemingly not bothered by the lightning but drenched to the bone.

Maka gave her shivering, dripping wet friends towels. Crona couldn't stop shaking.

"Crona, what's wrong? Are you still cold? Do you need Maka to get you another towel?" Tsubaki desperately tried to calm the poor crying mess down.

"T-thunder. I r-really, really hate thunder. My m-mother locked me out once, and I..." The crying got worse.

Astraphobia. Poor Crona had Astraphobia, and the storm was only getting worse. Rain assaulted the roof like a stampede of horses drumming their hooves nonstop as loud as they could.

"Maybe we should all go to bed now," Soul suggested, eager to crawl into his nice, warm sleeping bag. His pajamas were still damp and he was freezing.

The group muttered agreement and began heading to their sleeping bags, except Crona. Crona just sat on the floor with the towel over their head, shivering and whimpering as the thunder boomed outside.

Black*Star felt terrible, though he'd never admit it. This whole thing was his fault for taking truth or dare to the extreme.

Kid shifted in his sleeping bag.

"Crona, are you going to be okay?"

"No! My mother said that the thunder is a great big monster, and it's going to rip our arms and legs off! I don't want us to lose all our arms and legs!"

Black*Star saw the opportunity to atone for his sins. "A monster? Don't worry, the mighty Black*Star can take on any monster! You don't have to be afraid. I'll protect us!"

"You can't- it'll sneak up on us while we sleep and then we won't be able to do anything about it!"

"No it won't, because I won't sleep! I'll just stay awake all night and make sure it doesn't come in, and if it does, I'll obliterate it with my awesomeness."

Maka rolled over.

"You can't just not sleep, Black*Star. People need to sleep. That includes you."

"Puh-lease, Maka! I don't need to sleep. I'm Black*Star! I'm not limited by weaknesses like the rest of you. I don't need sleep!"

"Fine. But when you're too tired to have any fun tomorrow, don't say I didn't warn you."

"I don't get tired. You all go to sleep and I'll keep watch. I'd like to see that monster try and get in with me around!"

Half an hour later everyone was fast asleep, even Crona. Liz and Patty snored lightly, Tsubaki fidgeted and kicked a little, and Soul shivered. Black*Star put his own sleeping bag over him. It's not like it was going to get any use otherwise. He also took the liberty of putting Blair, a tiny black kitten with an oversized hat, on Crona to keep them warm. He figured that a real cat would be able to warm a scaredy-cat sufficiently.

The hours dragged on in the dark room. Black*Star went from confident to bored to tired as the clock ticked slowly in the dark room.

' _Come on!_ ' He thought irritably, ' _It must be close to morning by now!_ '

He tried to read the roman numerals on Maka's clock for a few minutes, but gave up and just figured out where twelve, six, and three were and went from there.

' _It's only like two! Nobody's gonna be awake until at least eight! I have to sit here for six whole hours?_ '

The prospect was unfathomably depressing until and idea hit him. The thunder was still going pretty strong outside- one strike every seven minutes or so. He'd just work out and change exercises every time thunder boomed, like a timer.

He'd start with push ups, then move on to sit ups, then handstands on one finger, then he'd hold a horse stance...

It worked fairly well until dawn, when the thunder stopped. He was stuck doing a handstand on one finger for over an hour, and only stopped because Maka's father returned home completely wasted and woke everyone up early stumbling around and knocking things over.

"Wow, Black*Star, you really stayed awake the whole time?" Maka was impressed. She had expected to find him passed out on the carpet when she woke up.

"Sure did! And no monsters came in. See, Crona? Nothing to worry about with me around! I am INVINCIBLE! I'LL SURPASS-"

"STOP SCREAMING IN THERE, MY HEAD'S KILLING ME! Go make yourselves breakfast or something!"

"Sorry, guys, my papa is hungover. I'll make pancakes."

"Can you even reach the stove with those stubby little legs?"

"Shut up, Soul!"

"He has a point, Maka. And is it really safe for you to cook in pigtails? I mean, you're so short. You hair must be right up next to the flames, even if you use a step-stool."

"Kid, leave her alone! I'm sure Maka can cook fine. I cook for you and Patty all the time at your house, and I'm just a little taller than Maka."

Black*Star grinned. He'd done it. These people were his friends, and he'd stayed up all night to protect them. He couldn't be more proud of himself.

"Black*Star, your eyelids look awful droopy!" Tsubaki teased, nudging her friend.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about pancakes. C'mon, Maka, bring them on!"

The friends all scampered into the kitchen to enjoy breakfast together.


End file.
